Video Games, Movies, and Novels: Same Opening. Three Mediums.

What are your reactions to each of these scenarios?

BOOK:

Mike hid in the bushes while his dad stopped the car and rolled down the window. Lucy, as ordered, stood right in front of the bushes. “Lucy, have you seen your brother anywhere?”

“I saw him at lunch!” Lucy threw the ball up in the air and caught it again. “Why?”

“Then why are you out here alone?”

“I'm not alone,” Lucy said, throwing the ball and catching it again. Mike held his breath and thought several swears. If she told... “Lyndsey and Audra just went to get some water.”

Mike didn't think Lucy knew anyone named Audra, and from his dad's expression, neither did he. “Well, when you see your brother, tell him we're not getting another microwave. If that one isn't put back together by this time tomorrow, he'll--”

“Be grounded for a month?” Lucy missed her catch this time.

“Exactly!”

Lucy waved as their father drove away. Mike came out when the coast was clear. “Good work, Luce.”

“I thought you said they wouldn't mind if we took apart the microwave?”

“I said they wouldn't mind the toaster. He didn't even mention that.” He tweaked the bow at the end of her braid, and she giggled, squirming away and tossing the ball. “I've gotta go to Brad's now. We've got a killer test tomorrow.”

“Aww, but I wanna play!” Lucy dug her toe in the dirt; she'd already worn a hole in her new sneakers.

“I'll buy you ice-cream when I ace it,” Mike promised, throwing the ball back. “Just stay out of trouble, be home by five, and stay out of the woods. That old house has started to fall apart.”

MOVIE:

Clear, blue sky over a small town. It pans down to one house, where a man sipping coffee opens the garage door to find half a microwave and a small robot doing a silly dance. The man stares, shakes his head, and calls over his shoulder, “Honey, Lucy helped Mike destroy the microwave.”

A woman is heard calling back, “Again?”

The scene continues to shift, through backyards and children playing, to the woods by the edge of town. There, a teenage boy and a young girl play catch. “Next comes a high one, Luce. You ready?” asks the boy.

The girl nods and plants herself. She dives, but catches the ball, and the boy claps her on the shoulder. “Good job.”

“Do you have to go study now?” The girl tosses the ball and catches it. “I'll have no one to play with.”

“Hey, I promised you ice-cream if I aced the test,” says the boy. He tugs on the end of her braid in a friendly manner. “Be home by supper, okay?”

“Okay,” says the girl, and waves as the boy runs off. She tosses the ball a few times, misses a catch, and it rolls to the edge of the woods. She stands there, looking in for a few moments, then walks in. The scene pans forward to an old, three-story mansion with a tall, chain-link fence around it, barbed wire on the top, the sky darkening around it, then fades away.

GAME

A short scene shows a boy crouched over a large amount of wires in what was clearly once a microwave, a young girl standing by. “Do you need the wire cutters, Mike?” asks Lucy.

Press A to pick up an item.

Mike picks up the wire-cutters, and instructions appear for how to use them, along with a puzzle to cut certain wires. After cutting four wires, Lucy asks, “Can I turn it on now?”

Yes/No

If you select No, you redo the puzzle. 

Yes, but failed the puzzle: Smoke fills the garage. Coughing, the two open the door and run outside.

 Yes, success: A small robot starts to dance. Mike turns to his sister, and they high-five, then run outside.

“Do you want to play catch by the woods?” asks Lucy, holding up a ball and two mitts.

Yes/No.

You select no, so Lucy says, “Please? We haven't played all weekend, and you promised!”

You're given the yes/no option again, but Lucy whines with each 'no', so eventually you select 'Yes' and she says, “Race you!” And takes off.

Instructions for movement appear, and you follow her-- or not-- through town. Depending on the detours you take, she'll appear, laughing and calling you slow, or out of breath and struggling, at different points. It's possible to win the race, if you know the route/have played this before. If you win, Lucy just flops on the ground, panting, while Mike says, “I won!” If Lucy wins, she teases you about being slow. If, though, you keep the race close-- Lucy is out of breath, and it would have been possible for you to win, but you didn't-- Lucy will do a full-out victory dance.

The game of catch is used to teach you how to throw items (it seems Mike is terrible at catching, as you must retrieve the ball from the ground each time) and, after three throws, are given the option to finish-- you can continue as long as you like. After, Lucy says, “Can we explore the haunted house later?”

“I have to study,” says Mike. “Brad and I are supposed to meet in an hour.”

“Please?

That place is dangerous/I don't think we can get in/ I'm scared.

(Choice A): “Aww, don't be so scared, Mikey. You'll protect me, right? No matter what happens?”

“Of course,” says Mike, tweaking her braid, and then you're told the route to Brad's house.

(Choice B): “I guess not. That gate's awful high, and it's locked. But what if we found the key?”

“If anyone could find the key, it'd be you, Luce,” says Mike, tweaking her braid. “But don't go exploring without me, okay?”

“Okay,” says Lucy, and you're told the route to Brad's house.

(Choice C): "You're lying, Mike. You're not scared of anything."

"Everyone's scared of something, Luce." Mike tweaks the end of her braid, and you're told the route to Brad's house.